Contents [hide]

1
Etymology and terminology
2
History
2.1
Before 1707
2.2
After the Acts of Union of 1707
2.3
Since 1945
3
Geography
3.1
Climate
3.2
Administrative divisions
4
Dependencies
5
Politics
5.1
Government
5.2
Devolved administrations
5.3
Law and criminal justice
5.4
Foreign relations
5.5
Military
6
Economy
6.1
Science and technology
6.2
Transport
6.3
Energy
6.4
Water supply and sanitation
7
Demographics
7.1
Ethnic groups
7.2
Languages
7.3
Religion
7.4
Migration
7.5
Education
7.6
Healthcare
8
Culture
8.1
Literature
8.2
Music
8.3
Visual art
8.4
Cinema
8.5
Media
8.6
Philosophy
8.7
Sport
8.8
Symbols
9
See also
10
Notes
11
References
12
Further reading
13
External links
Etymology and terminology
See also: Britain (place name) and Terminology of the British Isles
The 1707 Acts of Union declared that the kingdoms of England and Scotland
were "United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain", though the
new state is also referred to in the Acts as the "Kingdom of Great
Britain", "United Kingdom of Great Britain" and "United
Kingdom".[25][26][nb 7] However, the term "United Kingdom" is only found
in informal use during the 18th century and the country was only
occasionally referred to as the "United Kingdom of Great Britain"its
full official name, from 1707 to 1800, being merely Great Britain,
without a "long form".[27][28][29][30][31] The Acts of Union 1800 united
the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland in 1801, forming
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The name "United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" was adopted following the
independence of the Irish Free State, and the partition of Ireland, in